A man reported Tuesday that another man he had been arrested with on drug charges three days earlier bonded out of jail before he could and stole his wallet from their Indiana Avenue home and then skipped town, Athens-Clarke County police said.

The man said he feared that his former housemate would steal his identity to commit financial crimes, according to police.

Tymarcus Ricardo McLain, 32, of West Broad Street, was arrested Tuesday after he tried purchasing two laptop computers at a store on Atlanta Highway with a fraudulent credit card, Athens-Clarke County police said.

He obtained a Best Buy credit card by filling out an application with an existing customer’s name, according to police.

A burglar used a metal rod to smash a window of a home in the 300 block of Lexington Heights between 6-10:40 p.m. Tuesday and stole six pairs of women’s Nikes, altogether valued $660, Athens-Clarke County police said.

An unlocked trailer behind a home on Townes Grocery Road was burglarized between March 1 and Tuesday. Transmissions, engine heads, rims and intake manifolds, altogether valued at $2,100 were stolen, Athens-Clarke County police said.

The victim named as a possible suspect a person who had previously been barred from the property, police said.

Changes might be coming to Taste of Athens, the signature fundraiser for Community Connection, the local nonprofit social service agency's executive director hinted to the Athens Downtown Development Authority board at its Tuesday meeting.

The U.S. government announced a $1.2 billion settlement with Toyota Motor Corp. on Wednesday and filed a criminal charge alleging the company defrauded consumers by issuing misleading statements about safety issues in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The penalty is the largest of its kind ever imposed on an auto company, the Justice Department said.

Justin Bieber claimed after a shaky sobriety test in Florida that he was suffering from a hairline fracture in his right foot and made condescending comments to officers, according to a Miami Beach police document released Tuesday.

Many of us have experienced a cancer diagnosis of a friend or family member, or perhaps even one ourselves. Knowing the difficult time this creates for any individual, it is important to be surrounded by those who love you.

AKRON, OHIO | Ken Merunski has seen home construction mistakes that make him shudder.
He's seen floor joists notched to a dangerous extent to make room for plumbing. He's seen bearing walls that don't align with support beams.

One day in the mid-1960s, Charlie Harris, who was a coach in Newnan, called me about a high school kid for whom he had extraordinary praise. Charlie didn't attempt to apply governors to his expansive laudation about the kid.

Atlanta Mission's Athens Thrift Store will hold a grand reopening and customer appreciation day to celebrate one year of serving Athens-Clarke County from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at its new location at 2415 Jefferson Road in Athens.

An old saw about teachers needs an edit, according to Clarke County Teacher of the Year Aaron Jongko, who paid tribute to nearly two dozen other top Clarke County teachers in the room during a speech at a Rotary Club of Athens meeting Wednesday.

Sharp distinctions were drawn Wednesday night between the two candidates in the nonpartisan race for mayor of Athens-Clarke County, but a debate sponsored by the Young Democrats of UGA also revealed a point of near-agreement between incumbent Nancy Denson and her challenger — no relation — local activist Tim Denson.

Organizers of Slingshot, the music, arts and technology festival now in its second year in Athens, got a vote of confidence from the Athens Downtown Development Authority on Tuesday as the authority’s board voted to allocate $6,000 to help cover costs not covered by sponsors or other sources.

Evan Knox is Clarke County's STAR student because of his near-perfect SAT score and high grade point average, but the Cedar Shoals High School senior's smarts aren't the first thing that come to mind when people converse with him.

With just one day of voting left, state lawmakers in Georgia face decisions on whether to expand the places where people can carry guns, whether to create a medical marijuana program for the ill and how to overhaul the child welfare system.

ATLANTA - A bill that gives the Environmental Protection Division specific duties in the case of a chemical spill or other hazardous disaster passed the Georgia Senate on Tuesday and is headed to the desk of Gov. Nathan Deal for his signature.

A Madison County jogger and a bicyclist each suffered dog bites earlier this month, with the jogger's bite serious enough to require hospital treatment, according to Madison County Sheriff's Office reports.

A local print shop that offers workshops is holding a two-part class covering the basics of poster printing.
Double Dutch Press, a fine art print-making studio run by Amanda Burk and Katherine McGuire, is offering the class.

Oconee County Sheriff's Office investigators are waiting to hear from AT&T security personnel regarding an in-house investigation that showed more than $87,000 worth of property was stolen from its retail store on Epps Bridge Parkway.

Divergent: Teenage Wasteland takes another big screen turn in "Divergent", the latest young adult novel best-seller to test the Hollywood blockbuster waters. But methinks the water too deep for this picture.

When I say that I grew up with the Muppets, I mean it. Though we weren't neighbors and I wasn't raised in the Muppet theater, I was born a mere two years before their first film (1979's "The Muppet Movie") was released.

Slingshot, the international art, music and tech festival, returns to downtown Athens for its second year, bringing a far-flung band of forward-thinking artists, creators and amplified merrymakers to Athens.

The FBI joined forces with Malaysian authorities in analyzing deleted data on a flight simulator belonging to the pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, while distraught relatives of the passengers unleashed their anger Wednesday — wailing in frustration at 12 days of uncertainty.

SEATTLE — The news helicopter had just stopped at a helipad to refuel on its way to another assignment when it crashed and burst into flames yards from the Space Needle in the heart of Seattle, killing the two men on board and seriously injuring a third man who was on fire when he escaped from his car.

Last year, one of America's top businesswomen, Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, bolstered the feminist cause with her book "Lean In," advising women to take charge and seize career opportunities.

UGA players perhaps more than 'foolish'
I'm writing in response to the OnlineAthens/Athens Banner-Herald coverage of the four University of Georgia football players arrested for "double-dipping" on checks.

DANIELSVILLE | It's easy to spot the Sartains during Madison County's tennis matches. Hank's playing singles on the third court. His brother, Ben, and cousin, Adam, are right next to him, playing doubles on the fourth court.

She begins the day with a 7,500-yard workout, goes to class, returns for a 5,000-yard workout, studies, goes to sleep, and wakes up at 5 a.m. to do it all again.
An average day for a swimmer, but Shannon Vreeland is not an average swimmer.

For the upcoming season and beyond, many University of Georgia football fans will be able to get a full weekend's worth of parking in the downtown Athens parking decks on College Avenue and Washington Street for $25.

Morris Dees, co-founder and chief trial attorney of the Southern Poverty Law Center, will deliver the third annual Donald L. Hollowell Lecture on April 3 at 7 p.m. in the Mahler Auditorium of the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education.

The University of Georgia will host the 11th annual UGA Night at Six Flags Over Georgia on April 11. University students, faculty, staff, alumni and their families will have exclusive access to the theme park from 5 p.m. until midnight.

The Braves said Wednesday that Dr. James Andrews reconstructed the ulnar collateral ligament in Medlen's right elbow a day earlier during the procedure at Gulf Breeze, Fla. Medlen is expected to miss the entire season.

Medlen tore his right UCL while pitching against the New Yorl Mets on Aug. 4, 2010, was operated on by Andrews that Aug. 18 and didn't pitch for the Braves again until Sept. 25, 2011.

According to an announcement from peta2, the animal welfare organization’s youth division, the group will set up a 20-by-30 foot tent at UGA’s Tate Student Center plaza 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and Friday.

Inside, students can find out what it’s like to be inside a sow gestation crate, crates so small the pregnant swine cannot turn around or move more than two steps. The group will also be screening the “Glass Walls”, a documentary on the meat business narrated by PETA supporter Paul McCartney.

Farms around the nation have tried to capitalize on consumers' interest in how food is produced with tours showcasing organic vegetable production, urban agriculture and animals that graze on lush pastures.